In God’s building Christ is the foundation stone to uphold the building, the cornerstone to join together the Gentile and Jewish members of His Body, and the topstone to consummate everything in God’s building (Isa. 28:16; 1 Cor. 3:11; Eph. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:6; Zech. 4:7).
The Bible clearly shows us that Christ is everything for God’s building. First of all, Christ is the One who builds His church, His Body, as the building of God (Matt. 16:18).
Christ is the foundation stone, the only foundation laid by God for His building – He upholds and supports the entire building of God (Isa. 28:16; 1 Cor. 3:11).
Christ is the living stone, and by coming to Him we are also being made living stones – He is reproducing Himself into us to make us what He is, living stones in God’s building (1 Pet. 2:4).
Christ is the cornerstone, the One who joins the Gentile and Jewish members of Christ’s Body together, the One who blends us and builds us up into the one new man where Christ is all and in all (Eph. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:6).
Finally, Christ is the topstone, the capstone, the stone which is put on the top of the building and is engraved by God, the One who consummates God’s building (Zech. 3:9; 4:10).
We as the many believers in Christ and members of the Body of Christ need to spend much personal, intimate, spiritual, and affectionate time with the Lord, allowing Him to infuse us with Himself so that we may be transformed from clay into living stones and precious materials for God’s building.
Today I was particularly enjoying the aspect of Christ as the Topstone of Grace, the completion of God’s building.
The Seven Lamps of Fire Become the Most Pleasant Seven Eyes
The stone in Zechariah 3:9 and 4:10 has seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, the seven lamps of fire, and the seven eyes of the Lamb.
Christ has seven eyes, and His eyes are burning to enlighten us, search us, refine us, and judge us – not so that we may be condemned but that we may be purged, transformed, and conformed to His image for God’s building. Even right now Christ comes to us as the seven Spirits of God, the seven lamps of fire, to burn within us and remove anything that’s natural and that’s not of Him.
After we experience His burning and purging, the lamps of fire become the seven eyes of the Lamb, so lovely and pleasant. Christ has seven eyes for infusing us with Himself. He wants to look at us so that He may transfuse His very being, His feeling, and all that He is into us.
We need to enjoy His daily transfusing and infusing by spending much time with the Lord. No matter how many meetings or conferences we go to, no matter how many things we may do for God, nothing can replace our personal, private, affectionate, and hidden contact with the Lord. It is in this time that He can infuse us with His stone element to make us living stones for God’s building.
When we look to the Lord, in His eyes we see whether He is happy with us or whether we need to confess some things that are unpleasing to Him. If we live properly as children of God, Christ’s eyes will be lovely to us; but if we are disobedient, His eyes will be fearful, causing us to repent and remove any obstacle or sin.
All we have to do is just open to Him and look to the Lord in our spirit with an unveiled face, and we are simply being transformed from glory to glory into the same image as He is, even as from the Lord Spirit (1 Cor. 3:18).
Daily Spending Time with the Lord
A normal Christian doesn’t need to be reminded to spend time with the Lord – he simply loves the Lord and spends time with Him all throughout the day spontaneously.
But in many ways we are all abnormal Christians, not living a life fully one with the Lord, so we need to be reminded again and again to set time aside during the day to spend with our beloved Lord (Phil. 3:1).
We need to come to Him as we are, open to Him, and look to Him in spirit with an open heart and quieted soul. We can’t physically see the Lord Jesus, but we can talk to Him and say,
Lord, I can’t see You or physically touch You, but You can see me. Lord, train me how to be with You in a genuine way. I don’t want to be religious with You. I don’t want to have a ritual or form. I want to come to You as a living Person to touch You. I refuse to be natural. I refuse to be dead. Lord, I want to be revitalized. Infuse me with Yourself for God’s building!
Enjoying Christ as the Topstone of Grace
The topstone is the Christ who is grace from God to us to be the covering of God’s building (Zech. 4:7).
The topstone of God’s building is with shouts of “Grace, Grace to It!” (Zech. 4:7-10) – this topstone is Christ who came to us as the incarnated Word of God, full of grace and reality (John 1:14). For the completion of the rebuilding of God’s temple, Christ is the topstone, the capstone, upon which are the seven eyes of Jehovah.
When the building is completed, there’s a stone that is specially cut to be put on the top and complete the building. The building of God is topped off with grace! Christ came to us as grace from God. Grace is God in Christ enjoyed by us, and reality is God realized by us in the Son.
For God’s building to be completed, we need to enjoy Christ as grace – we need to receive of His fullness grace upon grace (John 1:16). Grace is a Person – grace came through and in Jesus Christ (John 1:17).
We need to enjoy Christ so much that we are covered in grace and the grace of God is even visible among us (Acts 11:23). We are people of grace, having grace with people (Acts 2:47), having grace upon us all (Acts 4:33), and being full of grace (Acts 6:8).
We need to continue in the grace of God (Acts 13:43), testify of the word of His grace (Acts 14:3), being commended to the grace of God by the saints (Acts 4:26; 15:40), help one another through much grace (Acts 18:27), and preach the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24).
God and the word of His grace is able to build us up and give us an inheritance among all those who have been sanctified (Acts 20:32). Just enjoy Christ as grace for God’s building to be completed!
Lord, supply us with today’s portion of grace. We want to be those who enjoy You as grace all the time, so that our living would be a grace to others. Lord, keep us spending time with You. We don’t want to be religious or formal with You. May we be genuine with You and allow You to infuse us with Yourself. We love to look at You, Lord Jesus, and to allow You to look at us and into us. Infuse us with all that You are for Your building!
References and Further Reading
- Sharing inspired from brother Ron Kangas’ sharing in this message and portions in, Life-study of Zechariah (msg. 5), and, The Conclusion of the New Testament (msg. 416), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on Crystallization-Study of Daniel and Zechariah, week 8 (entitled, Christ as the Stone with the Seven Eyes of Jehovah for God’s Building).
- Buy this morning revival book online via Living Stream Ministry.
- Hymns on this topic:
# Cornerstone, Foundation, Topstone, / Rock, and Church, and Living Stone, / Dwelling-place, and Sanctuary, / Builder too art Thou, we own. / Praise we give for what Thou art, Lord, / As Thy wondrousness we see! / Grant that we may be built up, Lord, / As the living stones in Thee.
# Lord, grant me today’s supply of grace; / May Your divine life grow apace; / Little by little, day by day, to grow / More and more, into You.
# Take time to behold Him, / The world rushes on; / Spend much time in secret / With Jesus alone. / By looking to Jesus / Like Him thou shalt be; / Thy friends, in thy conduct, / His likeness shall see. - Pictures credit: both via, Inspiration Unlimited Facebook page, HWMR Daniel and Zechariah Quotes album.
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